Fighting antisemitism beyond politics: Building alliances, not boycotting - opinion

Trigger warning: Apparently, I’m a right-wing dupe. I attended last week’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry conference against antisemitism.

But I’m an educator, not a boycotter: How can I learn if I shun activists, Left or Right? Would anyone have heard my speech endorsing Zionism as a positive form of liberal-democratic nationalism if I hadn’t participated? And shouldn’t I have attended to salute our students, no matter who else came? I respect those heroes much more than I disrespect anyone else willing to fly to Israel to denounce Jew-hatred.

This fight must transcend politics – with liberals fighting left-wing antisemitism and conservatives fighting right-wing antisemitism.

I’m a bad hypocrite. I demand consistency. If we wouldn’t dare boycott the Democratic Party because its leaders include unapologetic Jew-haters like Ilhan Omar, why boycott Europeans publicly denouncing Jew-hatred in Jerusalem, who nevertheless have despicable allies or shady party pedigrees?

Critics of Israel’s government mocked the special incompetence required to make an antisemitism conference divisive in 2025. Defenders found the boycott selective, canceling right-wingers, excusing left-wingers.

Rejecting the recriminations, let’s ask: “What can we learn” and “how can we avoid repeating this mistake?”The fairest criticism I heard was, “The Diaspora Ministry should respect Diaspora communities. If Jewish leaders in France or England are boycotting bigots, Israel’s government should follow their lead.”

That’s where the boycotters and Israel’s government missed an opportunity. They should have met privately beforehand in Israel to define a few redlines not to cross in fighting Jew-hatred, while articulating blue-and-white lines uniting Left and Right against Jew-hatred.

Unless serious leaders have such a summit soon, this problem will recur.

In today’s hyper-partisan age, extremists constantly shun rivals while defending allies, no matter how abhorrent. Democrats tolerate the most rabid, anti-Zionist faction in an American party since William F. Buckley blasted Pat Buchanan’s anti-Jewish, anti-neoconservative, isolationist wing in the Republican Party of the 1990s.

And, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson, Trumpian Republicans tolerate the most rabid, anti-Jewish voices in an American party since Jew-hating racists like Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilbo led the Southern Democrats’ mid-20th-century charge against civil rights.

It’s complicated – and ugly. As an American historian, I can challenge anyone, saying, “Pick a year, and I’ll name a Jew-hater who was mainstreamed,” and “name a party and I’ll list five, 10, 200 leaders who were racist, homophobic, sexist, and antisemitic.” Beware, therefore, what standards you profess when excommunicating others.

That’s why, in fighting Jew-hatred, we must build alliances rather than boycotting activists willing to fly to Jerusalem and denounce Jew-haters.

And that’s why the ministry’s conference highlighted bigger challenges to the unified front that Israel, the Jewish people, and the West need to win this fight.

How to orchestrate better conferences in future

Future conferences should slash the number of speakers, expanding opportunities for brainstorming and dialogue. This critique applies to almost every Jewish confab I attend.

I would also advise speakers to avoid retelling stories of Jew-hatred or describing the post-October 7 hate-burst. Anyone attending knows that. Instead ask: “What can we learn from it, what do we do about it, and how do we prevent future outbursts?” Thinking out of the box, describe some best practices. Tell stories of wins, of leaders who defied anti-Zionist antisemites, of non-Jews who stood tall, embraced Jews, and could inspire others.

Most important, clarify: What are we for, not just what are we against. As I asked the participants in my roundtable: “What positive vision or defining idea would have drawn you to Israel, beyond our shared desire to fight against Jew-hatred?”

I proposed a Zionist response to Jew-hatred because Zionism always preferred tree planting to firefighting. Identity Zionism offers the best long-term strategy for raising a generation of proud, unapologetic, happy Jews, intolerant of intolerance. That’s why I would increase educational and youth budgets exponentially – at the expense of the overly-flush anti-antisemitism establishment.

Experts and activists must explore vexing dilemmas – especially today’s great partisan conundrum. Jews spent decades cementing alliances with leftists, trusting liberalism as the best way to develop Jew-friendly countries where Jews and others thrive. Yet many liberals went illiberal and demonize the Jewish state obsessively. Meanwhile, more and more Jews feel safer and see Israel better supported in some populist right-wing regimes Jews long abhorred – even as these regimes tolerate individual Jew-haters.

Liberals should meet separately, asking: “What went wrong? How do we deal with the Left’s betrayal, and what strategies might reverse or dilute this increasingly toxic progressive anti-Zionism?”

Conservatives should ask: “How do we reconcile pro-Israel populism with its anti-Jewish elements, and when do we feel certain demagogues go too far in Jew-bashing or anti-Jewish dog whistling?”

Both groups should also meet together, to figure out how to keep the fight against Jew-hatred insulated from toxic partisan politics in this hyper-partisan age.

It starts by framing the fight universally, as an assault on Western values and liberal democracy, often spearheaded by Islamists, while finding allies who recognize attacks on Israel, Jews, and Zionism as the front lines of a civilizational war.

After exploring compelling strategic dilemmas, go institutional. Assess successes and failures on various battlefronts: public schools, campuses, social media, the streets, the art world, intellectual life.

Finally, brainstorm about bypass mechanisms. Follow the Harmonie-Hillcrest strategy, honoring Jewish country clubs that outdid established clubs that barred Jews. The best response to bigotry that’s too ingrained in an institution is transcending it. Build bigger, better institutions that benefit the Jewish people, America, and Western civilization.

The writer, a senior fellow in Zionist thought at the Jewish People Policy Institute, is an American presidential historian. His latest books, To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream and The Essential Guide to October 7th and its Aftermath were just published.